TRAVEL

Wednesday, 13 January 2010

Ten Tips for Small, New and Wannabe Online Retailers

Yesterday I was asked to take a look at a new small online retailer and see if I could help as things weren't going as well as they had hoped.

Well as you all know, there's a huge advantage to hindsight, and I love reviewing websites. I've had the odd occasion when people haven't been totally happy with what I've said - who likes criticism, after all? But it's happened to me recently, when Debenhams head online honcho made some constructive remarks about http://www.thesiteguide.com/.

I listened, struggled for a moment, as you do, and then went back and tried to implement what he suggested, which was absolutely right, of course.

When I got to this particular site yesterday, I found the following:

A great deal of flash on the home page - with the intro content embedded in flash (which meant that no search engine would pick it up).Little invitation to buy online, and lots of distractions.Pretty well no SEO at allBroken picture links on the Shopping Basket pageNo contact phone numberNo About Us linkNo Search BoxNo proper Sign-Up box

Well, as you can imagine, I didn't scratch my head for long, and gave the owner the advice that I am frequently giving to new and small online retailers. I just wish that I could have got to them to start with. So I've put together my initial top tips for getting started or tweaking a website that isn't working properly. What to do at the beginning, if you can. And the 'tick-off' points that every would-be e-commerce giant should know.

The retailer I was (and still am) talking to is Aurlanne Jewellery and I'm delighted that she's been so positive and reactive to what I've said. I started writing this for her - and so I hope she will put a comment here on what she's discovered since I started my - er - critique/mentoring activity. Did I say mentoring? I must be nuts.

Here are my First (because there will be more) Top Ten Tips for Small, New and Wannabe Online Retailers:

1. Do not opt for a flash website. I've written about this before in Glamoursleuth. Simple, well designed websites need to start without flash. Why? Because it will slow you down, it will make Search extremely difficult. It will cost you more. Do not be tempted to start with.

2. Be absolutely clear about what you want people to do on your website, and then help them to do it. If you want them to Shop Online, us those words and make the path absolutely clear. Do not try and be clever. To that end read Steve Krug's marvellous book, Don't Make me Think.

3. Prioritise your best selling categories so that people go to them first. You will be more likely to convert prospects to customers from these. Put your top three best selling products at the top, and everything else alphabetically underneath.

4. Be very, very careful before you sign up to a web developer. Most of them are after just one thing. Your money. I have worked with the same developer now for seven years which is amazing bearing in mind I am one of the least tolerant people you have ever come across. I am willing to wait a little bit longer because I trust them totally, I know they are honest and they know what they are doing. Know what you're doing before you sign.

5. Read every word of any development contract before you sign and make sure it includes absolutely everything you want. Do not sign off any work until you, and others, have tested it thoroughly.

6. Retain as much control of your site as you can. A small website need not be a lot of work to keep updated, but many developers will try and charge you a small fortune for any changes. Take the trouble to learn how to make changes. Pictures, Copy, Internal Links, New Products, Title Tags and Meta Descriptions - none of this is rocket science. Make sure you have the facility to do it.

7. SEO. First buy this book - SEO An Hour a Day and read it from cover to cover. It's not a hard read and will seriously open your eyes to how search engine optimisation works and what you need to do.

8. Title Tags - These are the single most important elements of your web optimisation, matching up what you are offering with what people are looking for via the search engines. Try not to have them directly linked to your category headings, you need to be able to manage and change them yourself and create your meta descriptions (the short ads that will accompany them if the search engines pick them up). SEO is a trial and error game and you need to have control.

9. Your Search Box and email Sign-up Box need to be above the fold, where people can see them clearly. Do not try and be clever (again). The Search Box should say just that 'Search'. Your Sign-up Box must not ask for too much information (such as age, gender, and all the other things you don't need to know), the more you ask for, the fewer people will sign up. Believe me.

10. Make sure all your links work and there are no typos in your copy. It is nearly impossible to be 100% perfect all the time (and don't I know it), but you need to take as much care as is humanly possible to look professional.

There is more, of course, but I'm going to tackle this in small bites as it is all so important and not possible to put here all at once - from the importance of good pictures to how to structure your title tags.

If you let me know an aspect you'd like me to cover I'd be happy to go there first - otherwise you'll have to leave it up to me and I'll be back with more very soon. After I've found my next favourite handbag and written about that, of course.

At least I hope I'll be back soon, off to the ballet in London with the daughter this evening. Wish us luck getting there>>>>>